Terriers Menhirs

This group of 9 small Neolithic menhirs are located in the Maures hills, south of Draguignan and Les Arcs.

Dating from the end of the Neolithic period, between 3000 and 2000 BC, the Terriers menhirs were only recently discovered, in 1991. The standing stones are fairly small. Most were under 3 metres tall when whole, and they were broken sometime in the centuries before their modern discovery.

Dating was done partly from six shards from a 12-cm diameter vase discovered at the site. This part of the Maures was already forested during the Neolithic era. The people who erected these menhirs probably inhabited the plains of the Argens just to the north.

All 9 of the menhirs were laying on their sides (in pieces) in the underbrush when discovered. Since then, the major piece of each one was "planted" in a spot closest to where the largest piece was discovered.

Hiking

• GPS: 43.41483, 6.50804

Maps

IGN (1/25,000) #3544 OT "le Muy, Lorgues, Mont Roquebrune, Maures"

The hike in to the Terriers menhirs, or the Sommet des Terriers, is done on a forestry road in the forested hills south of Les Arcs. Once parked, it took us 1h45 to hike in to the menhirs, including a side trip to the Summit of Terriers. Looping around the hill to the north, to avoid returning on the same path, takes about the same amount time.

The Start.
The N7 highway passes east-west just south of Les Arcs. The D555 road comes south along the east side of Les Arcs and joins the N7 at a cloverleaf junction. On the N7, about 200 m west of the D555 junction, a tiny road goes off across the fields to the southeast (away from Les Arcs). The little road passes beneath the autoroute in the first km. About 2 km after the autoroute passage is the small bridge Pont de la Tournavelle. You can park there or 300 m further on at the Pont d'Aille.

About 200 m further along after the Pont d'Aille is a junction on the forestry road clearly marked for the "Site Mégalighique des Terriers" [Photo-02].

The forestry road meanders soutwards, then branches around to the west, then climbs up over the Sommet des Terriers just south of the Menhirs site. Photo-03 is a view from near the top of the trail, but before getting to the summit.